From coffee bean to cup – Nestlé invests in the coffee value chain in Central and West Africa
Thousands of people in Central and West Africa, from coffee farmers to salespeople, are benefiting from Nestlé’s efforts to boost sustainable coffee from bean to cup.
As the demand for coffee continues to grow, with over 5,500 cups of Nescafé coffee consumed every second worldwide, the company has committed to provide sustainable farming, supply, production and consumption across its coffee supply chain.
Nestlé’s pledge is part of the Nescafé Plan, a global initiative that is currently active in 11 countries worldwide, including Côte d’Ivoire.
New farming methods
Coffee farmer Francois Dadi Serikpa from Gnamagnoa, Côte d’Ivoire, is just one of more than 147,000 farmers across the globe taking part in the Nescafé Plan.
The 65-year-old took up farming when he retired as a bus controller over 25 years ago.
Francois Dadi, a father of 12 and grandfather of 21, initially started farming cocoa, before growing coffee and palm oil.
When the Nescafé Plan was introduced in Côte d’Ivoire in 2010, he was encouraged to attended training sessions with other local farmers.
Nestlé agronomists visited his farm and taught him how to grow coffee more sustainably, based on Nescafé’s best farming practices.
As part of the plan, the company committed to provide farmers worldwide by 2020 with over 27 million high-yielding, disease-resistant coffee plantlets, developed by the Nestlé Research and Development Center in Abidjan.
Last year alone, over 2.3 million coffee plantlets were distributed to farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, including Francois Dadi.
“The coffee crops our parents planted are now shrinking in production, so we need companies like Nestlé to teach us new methods to help replenish our farms,” he said.
Francois Dadi has now improved his coffee crops, and in turn, increased his income to help support his family.
Proud coffee farmer
Aboulaye Konda, a coffee farmer from Bla in Côte d’Ivoire, also joined the Nescafé Plan in 2013.
The 48-year-old owns a nine-acre coffee plantation as part of cooperative Ecopab.
Thanks to his training in good agricultural practices, Aboulaye has increased his production from 2,500kg in 2013 to over 10,000kg in 2015, which has helped to boost his income.
He has been so successful that his farm was selected as a demonstration farm, showcasing best coffee farming practices.
The proud coffee farmer is one of over 19,000 coffee-growing farmers in the country who have been trained on these practices.
Financial support
Nestlé’s commitment to sustainable coffee is also helping to support Africans at consumer level.
As part of the ‘My Own Business’ (MYOWBU) street-vending programme, led by the company’s out-of-home business Nestlé Professional, young people and adults across Africa are provided with the skills and expertise they need to run their own successful small businesses.
It guides them to manage their own micro-enterprise and gives them training on sales, management, hygiene, safety and quality standards. They then recruit and employ 8-10 street vendors to sell Nescafé coffee in busy public areas such as stadiums, open markets and bus stops.
Comfort Dorkutso from Ghana is one of the thousands of MYOWBU employees working as a street-vendor in the region.
After leaving school to support her family, she struggled to make a decent living by earning only USD 40 a month as a home-to-home revenue collector.
In 2012, Comfort joined the MYOWBU programme and has quintupled her salary, helping to financial support her mother, siblings and niece.
“I have also been able to rent an apartment and I’m looking forward to saving enough money in order to build my own shop,” she said.
International Coffee Day
As part of the Nescafé Plan, Nestlé is working with international non-governmental organization the Rainforest Alliance, and local organisations in Côte d’Ivoire, including the National Coffee and Cocoa Board (CCC) and the National Agricultural Research Centre (CNRA).
Nestlé’s work and collaborations to boost sustainable coffee highlights the importance of International Coffee Day 2016 on September 28, a global celebration of coffee’s journey from farm to shop.